Thursday, February 7, 2008

Lost: Confirmed Dead

Recap: For as much feels like doesn't happen on this show, it sure takes a long time to go through what all happened, doesn't it? We met more of NotPenny's People (Dan, Miles, Charlotte and Frank), all of whom are adorable, even if they feel the need to bring HazMat suits. Naomi doesn't have a sister; "Tell my sister that I love her" is codeword for "Help me, I'm being held hostage at gunpoint against my will." So these Other-Others don't trust the Losties like they should/will. Miles notices that the light "scatter" is weird on the island. (Great, now the lighting is weird, too?)

Miles is apprehensive to trust Jack & co., but the Losties surround Miles with guns like Mr. Friendly did to Jack back in season 2, and everything is a bit better. Sayid notes that Miles isn't surprised to find out that they are all alive, and Miles can only make a sarcastic response. Frank wakes up near a cow, which means he was probably not too far from Mikhail's old stomping grounds. The helicopter, even though it was hit by lightning, is fine, because Frank is an awesome pilot.

Locke makes a detour from going to the barracks to going to Jacob's cabin, which Hurley let's slip that he saw, making Locke and Ben extremely curious. Locke then explains that Ben shot him, and the only thing that saved Locke - apart from the lack of a kidney - was a much taller Walt. (And the bullet wound has not healed completely yet, as we were so grossly shown.) Team Locke then meets up with Charlotte, who is tickled fancy to find out that people survived Flight 815, even if Locke won't divulge details.

Frank quickly figures out that Juliet wasn't on the flight manifest (which he memorized), and Miles freaks out because she is a "native" (but the viewing audience knows that she isn't!) and holds up a picture, saying that they were sent to the island to apprehend one man: Benjamin Linus. (Why would Abbadon want Ben?) But, Ben already knows this, since he starts to rattle off Charlotte's entire life story in front of Team Locke. And he knows all this because he has a man on the boat.

FLASHBACKS: The wreckage of Oceanic Flight 815 was found, bodies could not be recovered safely but were identified. Matthew Abbadon, the NotLawyer who visits Hurley in the future, assembled a team to go to the island. Abbadon consults with Naomi, who does not like the team, but is confident because she is the leader and the mission depends entirely on her. Dan cries when he sees that 815 is in the ocean, Miles continues doing some shady ghost whispering business, Charlotte finds a DHARMA polar bear in the Tunisian desert and Frank was supposed to pilot 815 and figures out that one of the bodies was identified falsely, or is a fake. The team went on a helicopter and when they approached the island, turbulence ensued and they all fell at different areas across the island.

What worked: Everything! The episode was sharp, crisp and felt very new. The storytelling was compelling and even though we got a ton of new questions instead of answers, it was such a fun ride that I did not mind it. And the new people are really fun, too. I like Dan, who seems so normal. And Frank, who looks like he'll replace the role of Mr. Friendly as Jolly but Tough Guy just fine.

What didn't work: I'm pretty sure Jack had leverage on Miles to make him tell why NotPenny's People are there. But Jack caved, because Jack makes no sense and Kate knows it. And this technically should go in the what worked category because it made sense, but all that satellite phone beeping got annoying and bugged me, which is such a tiny, pathetic complaint, but I'm a pathetic complainer, so it works out.

Questions: Why would Abbadon want Ben? Why did he assemble that specific team to go to the island to get him? How did a polar bear from the DHARMA Hydra station get buried in Tunisia? Does Ben actually know what the smoke monster is? Does Ben get more funny lines per episode now that Hurley, and if so, does anybody mind? Who planted the plane and the bodies? Why did Dan really cry when he heard that the wreckage of Flight 815 was found? Can Miles really talk to the dead? (Remember: Desmond can see the future...) Who is the mole on the boat? What do the boat people already know about Flight 815 and the island itself?

NEXT WEEK: War is coming. Fights in the barracks, fights elsewhere. Another Oceanic 6 revealed.

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The views and opinions expressed in this blog do not reflect the views and opinions of The Collegiate, the student-run newspaper of Grand Rapids Community College. By extension, this blog does not reflect the views and opinions of GRCC. All viewpoints are reflective only of the author(s) who wrote them. This blog is not a classroom assignment. Rather, it is a labor of love (or spite, perhaps) for those who work on it.